20 



The Florists^ Review 



OCTOBKH 30, 1919. 



is'ldtion ^nd 



Legal IDecisioni 



PITT CONTRACTS IN WRITING. 



Three Reasons Why. 



There are three reasons for putting 

 important contracts in writing. One is 

 that in the great majority of cases the 

 statute of frauds requires it. Another 

 is the increased definiteness and cer- 

 tainty that come from putting the 

 agreement in written form; you no 

 longer have to depend upon the memory 

 for its terms. The third reason is that 

 it enables you to get the benefit that 

 comes from the enforcement of the pa- 

 rol evidence rule. 



If the contract is oral, it must be 

 proved by parol evidence. The court 

 must depend upon the testimony of 

 witnesses. Evidence of everything that 

 was said and done, of all the circum- 

 stances connected with the case, includ- 

 ing the preliminary negotiations, will 

 be admitted by the court in its effort 

 to determine whether there was a con- 

 tract and what it was. Furthermore, 

 what was said and done are questions 

 of fact to be passed upon by the jury, 

 and this brings in an additional ele- 

 ment of uncertainty. 



When the contract is partly written 

 and partly oral, the two parts must be 

 construed together. You have some 

 advantage from the written part. But 

 the door is open for parol evidence and 

 a trial by jury before the court has an 

 opportunity to pass upon what the con- 

 tract means. 



But the moment you reduce the entire 

 contract to writing, you shut out all 

 parol evidence. The writing speaks for 

 itself, and if it has been properly drawn, 

 so that it is clear and unambiguous, 

 what it means is considered :i question 

 of law to be decided by the court. 



Parol Evidence Rule. 



The parol evidence rule, for our pres- 

 ent purposes, may be stated as follows: 

 A written contract or agreement can- 

 not be contradicted, altered, added to, 

 or varied, by parol or extrinsic evidence. 

 In this sense parol evidence is any other 

 evidence, whether oral or written, than 

 the written instrument itself. 



There are a number of seeming ex- 

 ceptions to this rule. An examination 

 of them shows that they are not excep- 

 tions at all. Consider the following ex- 

 ceptions and observe that in reality they 

 are cases which do not come within the 

 rule: 



1. Evidence may be admitted to 

 show that there is no agreement at all. 



2. Evidence may be admitted to aid 

 the court in determining the meaning 

 of the contract; that is, to aid in cop- 

 struction. 



An Aid to the Court. 



This evidence is not admitted for the 

 purpose of changing the contract, but 

 to assist the court in determining what 

 it means. Evidence of thfe usages of 

 business or trade is often admissible, 

 where well established, to show the 

 meaning of words that have a peculiar 

 use in connection with that business 



and to place the court in a better posi- 

 tion to understand the language used. 

 But there is one point in this connec- 

 tion that should be cautioned against. 

 Where words are clear and unambigu- 

 ous, the court will not permit one of the 

 parties to introduce evidence to show 

 that they were intended to mean some- 

 thing different. Words are to be un- 

 derstood in their ordinary and popular 

 sense, unless there is a good reason for 

 understanding them otherwise. If 

 scientific or technical words are used, 

 the testimony of experts may be intro- 

 duced to show their meaning. 



3. Evidence may be introduced to 

 show the terms of collateral agreements 

 not inconsistent with the original con- 

 tract and of subsequent agreements 

 whether consistent with the original 

 contract or not. 



Rule on Receipts. 



4. There is one written instrument 



to which the parol evidence rule does 



not apply — ordinary receipts. The law 



on this subject is clearly stated in the 



following quotation from Parsons on 



Contracts: 



A receipt for money is peculiarly open to evi- 

 dence. It is only prima facie evidence either 



that the sum stated baa been paid or that any 

 sum whatever was paid. It is in fact not re- 

 Karde,4 as a contract and hardly as an Instru- 

 all, and has but little more force than 

 admlBsion of the party receiving. But 

 ^true only of a simple receipt. It often 

 that a paper wbici) contains a receipt, 

 tu the receiving of money or of goods, 

 ' also terms, conditions, and agreementl), 

 or astf^nments. Such an instrument, as to every- 

 thing"4)*it the receipt, is no more to be affected 

 by extrinsic evidence than if it did not contain 

 the receipt; but as to the receipt itself, it may 

 be varied or contradicted by extrinsic testimony, 

 in the same manner as if it contained nothing 

 else. 



You are not to infer from this that 

 receipts are useless, for they serve a 

 valuable purpose. At the beginning of 

 the quotation given above it was stated 

 that a receipt is prima facie evidence 

 that the money has been paid. It raises 

 a strong presumption of payment when 

 it is introduced in evidence and thereby 

 places upon the person who gave it, the 

 burden of proving by clear and convinc- 

 ing evidence that it does not speak the 

 truth. 



SAY IT THE YEAR AROUND. 



In just a little while those traflSc post 

 boxes at Moorhead, Minn., which were 

 shown in The Review October 2, will 

 blossom out in winter attire, as we see 

 no reason why they should not be as use- 

 ful and as beautiful in winter as in sum- 

 mer; this, of course, will be done with 

 artificial flowers and greens. 



We are firm and sincere believers in 

 that great slogan, which has done so 

 much for all of us, "Say It with Flow- 

 ers," and we are always saying it with 

 flowers, any place a flower will fit in, as 

 well as on paper, J. W. Briggs, 



j MiLMitiilJiBLmM^ilMliLM^ 



MOTT-LY MUSINGS 



He who has anytkine to sell, 



And goes and sings it down a well, 



Will not collar in the dollars. 



Like lie who climbs a tree and iioUers. 



"Quite true," observed John J. Perry, 

 manager of the S. S. Pennock Co., Bal- 

 timore, Md., "and this is what our pub- 

 licity organization is doing. Neverthe- 

 less, the matter of supply and demand 

 attracts our attention at this time when 

 outdoor flowers were never more plenti- 

 ful and, consequently, the sale of indoor 

 stock is seriously affected. Our most 

 welcome caller will be Jack Frost; we 

 look and hope for him daily now." 



• • • • 



Martin C. Ribsam, of Trenton, N. J., 

 reports an excellent season. Bulb sales 

 vie with funeral orders, keeping both 



departments busy. 



• • • • 



"Capital idea this, of having two 

 stores in one town," observed Henry 

 Leahy, of Elizabeth, N. J. " The boys 

 have an interest in the business and are 

 eager to make each show up better than 

 the other. In this way, both are kept 



at top speed." 



• • • • 



John Reck & Son, Bridgeport, Conn., 

 make a fine showing in their new store. 

 Mr. Reck had just returned from attend- 

 ing the meeting of the F. T. D., con- 

 vinced that it was time well spent. 



• • • • 



John N. Champion, of New Haven, 

 Conn., reports an excellent opening and 

 will be well content if the business con- 

 tinues right along at the present pace. 



"Compared with last season, business 

 is not so good with us," observed Chat- 

 terton Warburton, of Fall River, Mass., 

 "but, as that was really abnormal, one 

 can hardly make a comparison." Funeral 

 work holds up well. Two fine wreaths 

 composed of magnolia leaves and purple 

 globe amaranths, one of the Elks' em- 

 blems, were noted, and two of myrtle 

 and forget-me-nots, all of which are 

 grown and kept on hand. The amaranth 

 can be gathered and dried, retaining its 



natural color. 



* • • * 



Johnston Bros., of Providence, R. I., 

 have their newly decorated store filled 

 with a fine display of chrysanthemums. 

 "It is our usual fall opening, always 

 appreciated by our patrons," remarked 

 Robert Johnston. 



* « « « 



Goeller Bros., of Trenton, X. J. ex- 

 press doul)ts on the scasou's business, 

 which is sometimes up, sometimes down, 

 but more down than up, and compare it 

 with last year at this time, when sick- 

 ness was rampant and stock scarce. 

 While a repetition of that season would 

 boost sales, it is not hoped for. 



* * « * 



J. W. Blakeley, of Elizabeth, remarked 

 that he was entering upon the forty- 

 eighth year in the same location and is 

 full of optimism as to the future of the 

 business, having passed through many 

 situations similar to the present. 



W. M. 



